The Run Club group photo at first meeting
Photo Courtesy: Norah Marriner
BY: JAMESON ZUBER, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Last semester, Norah Marriner, a senior health and society major, completed her first half-marathon. Afterward, she received several questions about finding a running community at St. Bonaventure University, which inspired her to start Run Club.
“Learning that other people in my environment were also interested in running or already involved in running ultimately reignited my interest in forming a running club at Bonaventure,” said Marriner.
Together with co-president Rily Rzepka, a junior environmental studies major, the Run Club was born.
“When Rily reached out to me about working together to form the club, it was a no-brainer,” Marriner said.
Run Club had its first meeting on Sept. 3, with a turnout of 12 members.
“We had more members than expected, and it was very motivating to see everyone,” Rzepka said.
For the first meeting, Marriner and Rzepka led members through introductions, established a structure for future meetings and walked around the Allegheny River Trail — the trail next to campus and the meeting location of Run Club.
“We aim to offer resources and guidance not only for achieving fitness goals through cardio training but also navigating academic, social and personal experiences,” Marriner said.
While its main focus is the physical and mental aspects of running, Run Club is also intent on improving running safety on and off campus. To achieve this, Run Club is working with Tara Leonard, the director of Sexual Violence Prevention at Bonaventure and Run Club advisor.
Their goal is to improve safety awareness on the Allegheny River Trail — which currently has no campus security measures. The lighting throughout the trail is spotted, leaving many dark spots for night runners.
Marriner and Rzepka prioritize an inclusive and low-pressure environment for members, adjusting all training plans to the different skill levels and end goals.
Run Club hopes to offer carpooling to local races this October, such as the Evl Half Marathon and 5K in Ellicottville.
Run Club meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. Each meeting will start at the picnic tables near the tennis courts in the back of the Murphy Professional Building parking lot, right next to the start of the Allegheny River Trail.
@zuberjd23@bonaventure.edu
